The invention pertains to a wedging free-wheel clutch having centrifugally disengageable wedging members wherein the cage is frictionally connected with the overrunning race.
One basic condition for free-wheel clutches having centrifugally disengageable wedging members is that the cage rotate with the overrunning race whether it be the inner or outer race. In order to fulfill this requirement, the cage may be positively interlocked with the corresponding race or connected thereto in frictional fashion. The positive interlocking connection has not proven to be suitable, for in effecting positive connections to the wedging members, high levels of force arise and relative motion between the cage and race occurs. For this reason, frictional connections through the application of various frictional elements between the cage and race have been introduced. Thus it is, for example, a well known procedure to provide the cage with U-shaped springs which are arranged in such fashion that they lie with their flanges against the clamping surface of the overrunning outer race and thus frictionally connect the cage with the outer race. According to another solution in which the cage is frictionally connected with the inner race, a disc spring with a flat loaddeflection characteristic is engaged between a front side of the cage which is rotatable on the inner race and a retaining ring, for example, a spring ring mounted on the inner race. The disc spring provides the friction between the cage and the inner race by means of the retaining ring. It is also a well known procedure to attach leaf spring elements to the cage which partially span the inner race in order to provide a frictional force between the cage and inner race.